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Automotive industry

Automotive industry
News about the global automotive industry with a focus on developments that matter most for the China market.
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra electric car is displayed at the 2025 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Chinese electric vehicle brands have rapidly gained ground in Europe in recent months. Photo: Xinhua
China-EU relations

‘A big opportunity’: why Spain’s new electric car plan hands an opening to China

Madrid’s ambitious strategy may hinge on attracting more Chinese investment, giving China’s firms greater leverage, analysts say.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

BYD founder bets on new tech to win back customers as sales decelerate

Electric & new energy vehicles

Tesla’s China plant sees shipment surge ahead of subsidy expiry

China manufacturing

Germany’s China playbook: if you can’t beat them, partner up

More than half of surveyed German firms plan deeper ties with local partners in China to match the rapid innovation cycles of domestic competitors, the German Chamber of Commerce has found.

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Robot arms are seen at work on a car production line at a factory of FAW-Volkswagen in eastern China’s Shandong province on March 12. Photo: AFP
Electric & new energy vehicles

China’s EV makers post stellar sales before incentives are phased out next year

Leapmotor leads the pack with record sales for a seventh month in a row, while Voyah and Zeekr put on a strong performance.

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Robotics

Changan Auto becomes latest Chinese carmaker to join humanoid robot bandwagon

State-owned carmaker invests US$31.8 million to take a 50 per cent stake in Changan Tianshu Intelligent Robotics Technology.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

China EV profit woes fuel market anxiety over challenging 2026

Investors quickly turn against EV makers as earnings fall short, and next year looks even more difficult, analysts say.

Xpeng Mona M03 electric vehicles are displayed outside the venue of a launch event in Beijing on August 27, 2024. Photo: Reuters
Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese EV makers step on gas abroad amid weakening mainland sales

A growing export drive by Chinese EV makers aims to soak up overcapacity and secure better profits as incentives fade.

Nexperia

China, EU shift Nexperia strategy: let the companies work it out

Wang Wentao shifts focus to the boardroom but warns the Dutch government must still scrap the executive order and court ruling fuelling the crisis.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Tesla affirms confidence in Chinese partners, repudiates supplier ban

American EV maker says rigorous standards – not geographic origins – guide its vendor choices.

Tesla has offered a vote of confidence to the more than 400 Chinese manufacturers that supply car components to Tesla’s Shanghai factory. Photo: Reuters
Electric & new energy vehicles

Volkswagen revs up designed-in-China approach to catch up in EV market

Carmaker says mainland operations can now design and validate new models without approvals from Germany, reducing development time and cost.

An aerial view of Volkswagen Group China Technology Company in Hefei, in eastern China’s Anhui province. Photo: Handout
Science

Chinese team cuts laser weapon, EV part production time from 1 hour to 1 second

High-intensity heating and cooling method speeds up creation of sought-after electrical component.

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CATL

Co-founder of EV battery giant CATL pockets US$239 million from 1% stake sale

Huang Shilin retains more than 9 per cent of CATL, whose shares have skyrocketed in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Electric & new energy vehicles

Xiaomi reaffirms safety focus after raising 2025 sales target to 400,000 units

Safety is a foundation and a priority, founder and CEO Lei Jun says after Xiaomi’s 500,000th EV rolls off Beijing assembly line.

Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra EVs are displayed at the Auto Shanghai exhibition in April 2025. Photo: Reuters
Made in China 2025

Chinese EV makers accelerate robotics drive for ‘game-changing’ edge over US

Xpeng, Cherry and others expand beyond cars, with humanoid robot Iron winning praise from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Xpeng’s humanoid robot Iron relies primarily on visual data for training and decision-making. Photo: Shutterstock
Xiaomi

China’s Xiaomi posts first profit from EV, AI units as quarterly earnings surge

Beijing-based company sells nearly 109,000 electric vehicles in three months, underscoring pivot from smartphones.

China-Germany relations

Germany courts China as rare earths stoke economic woes

Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil sought assurances on rare earth supplies from China in a bid to ease one of the challenges weighing down Germany’s sluggish economy.

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Mainland China

Geely’s third-quarter revenue and profit soar on surging EV sales on mainland

Carmaker posts a 27 per cent jump in revenue to 89 billion yuan (US$12.5 billion) and a 59 per cent increase in net profit to 3.8 billion yuan.

Geely’s EV sales jumped 98 per cent year on year in the first 10 months of the year, faster than most mainland rivals. Photo: Xinhua
Semiconductors

How Nexperia saga exposes Europe’s waning influence in US-China chip war

The dispute around the Dutch chipmaker shows the erosion of Europe’s geopolitical neutrality in the face of escalating US-China rivalry.

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Semiconductors

Nexperia China slams chipmaker’s head office as Sino-Dutch envoys set for talks

In a letter, Nexperia China accuses the Dutch head office of ‘malicious sabotage’ and ‘shirking responsibilities’.

Artificial intelligence

Tesla, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz win China’s approval to deploy AI chatbots in cars

China has approved the first foreign carmakers to roll out in-vehicle AI assistants, opening the door for wider adoption.

Domestic brands have been rushing to register their own AI services to gain a competitive edge over foreign brands. Photo: Handout
Electric & new energy vehicles

China’s car industry preps for next-level self-driving: Hesai

Use of advanced hardware will pick up next year, with some carmakers already adopting it to ‘pre-empt rivals’, CFO says.

People pass the Hesai Group booth at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 9, 2025. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images
Electric & new energy vehicles

Volkswagen bets on EV developed with Xpeng to regain ground in China

The ID Unyx 08 has received government approval to begin production and is expected to enter the market in 2026.

China-EU relations

Nexperia chips have begun flowing to Europe again, auto suppliers say

Beijing has followed through on promises to ease export restrictions, but a final deal to decide the chip firm’s fate has yet to be agreed.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Tesla and global carmakers race against Chinese EV rivals at expo

At CIIE, global brands like Tesla and Volkswagen are under pressure to win back market share from local competitors.

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A Tesla Cybercab displayed at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai. Photo: EPA
Thailand

Asian Angle | Thailand’s ‘China plus one’ successes mask a middle-income quagmire

FDI figures hide the painful truth: an ageing workforce, structural challenges and low-value assembly threaten economic stagnation.

Workers on an assembly line at the Great Wall Motors manufacturing plant in Rayong, Thailand. Photo: Xinhua
United States

Tesla shareholders approve stratospheric US$1 trillion Musk pay package

The unprecedented agreement paves the way for the world’s richest person to become the first trillionaire.

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China trade

Nexperia saga sees wary German auto firms scramble to mitigate chip shortage

Volkswagen, Aumovio and ZF among companies eyeing either exemptions, alternate sources or temporary cuts as China weighs export relaxations.

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